2007 NCAA Hockey West Regional
Pepsi Center ? Denver, Colo.
March 24, 2007
Game 2: No. 3 North Dakota def. No. 2 Michigan, 8-5
University of North Dakota
Head Coach: Dave Hakstol
Opening Statement
I don't know if that game can be summed up in a short opening comment. It was a wild and crazy game for the first 25-30 minutes, we didn't come out and get out to a good start defensively. We gave up an awful lot of grade-A opportunities and some goals that this time of year certainly we're not happy about giving up. But there were a couple of real keys for us. Phil Lamoureux got off to a poor start tonight, but really showed a great deal of mental toughness to battle back. I thought he provided the real turning point in our game with the breakaway save on TJ Hensick in the second period. I really like the way our guys dug in and found a way to get the job done. There was no sag at all, the guys just dug in and found a way to get the job done, whether it's a 2-1 game or an 8-5 game, a win is a win.
Q: You have the Gophers again, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
A: I don't know. I guess it's a hard question to answer. We have no control over that, we were both placed in the West Regional here, it's a tremendous region. As you watch the other regionals that are underway right now, you quickly learn there are great teams in each one of them. They're a heck of a hockey team (Minnesota) I guess from our standpoint, we had a goal to achieve tonight, that was to wake up tomorrow morning to prepare for another game, regardless of who the match-up is against. You can take everything in the past and throw it out, including last Saturday, you can throw that all away. We're playing right now for the opportunity to advance to the Frozen Four.
Chris Porter, Senior, Forward
Q: Over the past 3-4 years, the team has really found its way in the second half of the season, and again this year... how do you explain that?
A: I don't know if there's any rhyme or reason over the past couple years, we've had guys leave early for the NHL and I think we've had young guys come in and we've asked them to play big roles. As a young player it takes awhile to adjust to college hockey you're asked to play two games back to back every weekend. I think the second half we've done well because we're adjusted and some of the older guys have taken charge. We've just said enough is enough and we've stuck with it. In the first half we didn't get a couple of bounces that could have won ourselves some games, but after Christmas we've basically taken on the attitude that we are in playoff hockey and it's a do or die situation. Good things have happened for us and we started to get some bounces and here we are now.
T.J. Oshie, Sophomore, Forward
Q: You lost a big one to Minnesota last week in the final five, the stakes are higher, I'm sure you guys have a little pay back in mind, what are you thinking about tomorrow's game?
A: Well it's always a big game when we play the Gophers. It's a huge rivalry and it's a fun game to play in, there's definitely been a little feeling in my gut this week, that we took a tough loss last week. It feels good to be able to get some payback, but we have to keep our heads about us tomorrow night and not over exert ourselves and just play our game, which is Sioux Hockey.
University of Michigan
Head Coach: Red Berenson
Opening Statement
It was a tale of different games out there. I thought our team started off very well and played well, and when the penalties started coming, we could not keep the puck out of the net, and that was pretty much the story of the game. Our penalty killing has been improved lately, then tonight [North Dakota] had five power play goals.
Q: Can you comment on the North Dakota power play?
A: Tonight it was point shots getting through that we did not block and our goalie did not see. They scored one goal on a power play rush, and the rest of them just went in...It was a goalie's nightmare. Our penalty killers have worked hard, and they did a lot of good things.
Matt Hunwick, Senior, Defenseman
Q: When you took the early lead did you feel you were in control of the game at that point?
A: Yes, I think early on we played well. We came out of the gates flying. Five-on-five, I thought we controlled the puck down low, we made good plays, our skilled players did a good job, but then half way through that period we started taking penalties and the momentum swung a little bit and it was tough for us to get going again once they got those power play goals.
T.J. Hensick, Senior, Forward
Q: When you were up 5-4 in the second period, is that when the game could have gone your way?
A: I don't think so, when we were up 3-1, that should have been our statement right there. We should have stopped taking undisciplined penalties. We needed to bear down defensively, and we did not seem to do that.
Andrew Cogliano, Sophomore, Forward
Q: Have you been in a situation before in which there were two goals early in the first and second periods?
A: I don't think so in college hockey, when you have guys like T.J. Hensick scoring goals at the beginning of periods, as a team you have to rally around that. We had a lot of chances to finish off the game, and start tightening up defensively; we ended up taking penalties that cost us.
